Nearby Theaters

News About This Theater

Squared front building in red brick but very plain, retail stores on each side of the very tiny entrance. Box office is on the exterior right front with just two doors on the entrance. This small town theatre is located on First Avenue SE and First Street South. The Bijou Theatre seats 297 and opened in 1947.

The Bijou Theatre has a very small lobby with the concession built into the back wall of the auditorium and still has the original Manley popcorn popper and also has the original “Buttercup” butter dispenser. The sound system has recently been updated with a Dolby CP-50 stereo sound system.

This may not be one of the most impressive theatres on your list, but I can guarantee you that many a love of movies was born here, including my own. Beach is a very small town and lucky to still have a movie theatre when you think about it. I can still remember riding my bike to the Bijou in the warm summer evenings and the free Christmas movie they offered. We would walk from the nearby elementary school and settle in for a holiday film and a box of candy. I have fantastic memories of this little theatre and all the wonderful movies I saw there. I continue to go to the movies very frequently and I believe I can trace my lifelong interest to my experiences at the Bijou Theatre in Beach, North Dakota.

The Bijou Theater in Beach,ND is now closed. It closed in early June with the final picture being “Cars”. The owner is an elderly widdow who is becoming ill and could no longer take care of it or find a buyer/manager while it was still open. Her father constructed it in the 40s and her and her husband started running it in the mid 50s. It is for sale. I will post the full article as soon as I find it.

I am pleased to say that the Bijou is BACK, as of March 17, 2007, and very much in the business of showing movies. There is much left to do but already we have a web site www.beach-movie.com webmastered by KLAR of Dickinson, ND. The sound system has been upgraded from the single center Cerwin-Vega D-32B speaker and Cerwin-Vega B-36A subwoofer to a stereo system employing two new JBL EON 15-92s along with the previously installed JBL surround sound system. Though the North projector was modified to accept a Christie three platter system, both projectors are still capable of running separate reels. A reverse-red light reader was installed along with a processor upgrade to a DSP-60S. The sound is such a marked improvement old time patrons are surprised and delighted. A proscenium stage has been added and is being finshed to allow for visiting live acts and presentations. Many other modifications are in process and it is my hope that the theatre will be good to go for many years to come.